brubrubites: December 2011

Having hopped out of a 90 minute flight, sat through a 35 minute Bart, and walked 20 minutes straight through the financial district set the tone for the trip. It felt like a business trip, or more precisely, a mission. A mission to eat our hearts out and steer clear of tourist traps.

LUNCH @Wayfare Tavern

The classy ambience and formally dressed hosts are inspiring but the dress code is not strictly enforced.

Call it Yorkshire Pudding or Popover, this English traditional dinner roll was fresh out of the oven delicious - serve me this golden-brown-out-fluffy-in explosive goodness on every meal, please.

DEVILED PETALUMA EGGS ($9)
Besides the expected mustard yolk richness, the capers, celery & crisp shallot topping gave this appetizer a nice finishing touch.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE (8)
A good smoky creamy mac n cheese topped with crispy garlic bread crumbs and chive looked and tasted as good as it sounds.

LOBSTER WALDORF SALAD (24)
The salad was a pleasant toss of succulent lobster chunks, fresh apples, grapes, celery, toasted walnuts, and organic leafs in light sweet waldorf dressing. Easily feeds two people.

The STEAK FRITES (27)
This plate consists of three long strips of Santa Maria tri tip dripped with truffle butter sauce, and paired watercress and fancy shoe string fries. Altogether, it yielded a satisfying dish.

After the meal at WT, the friendly host recommended us heading north to find the Santas on the streets and good times.

Though we didn’t really take a part of “The Santa Occupying SFC”, on our ways, we did find a little gem in the north of the city.

XOX Truffles

These rustic, rich, and smooth truffles are of some 20+ unique flavors (think earl grey, hazelnut, cognac & etc) without the sugary overdose. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love and bought some more soon after.

San Francisco is known for its convenient pubic transit system but taking the bus 11 (your two feet) might engage you more interesting sceneries.

DINNER @Millennium

Millennium offers creative menu options and we had the December Harvest (12/08-12/10, 2011).

1st course: Warm Brussels Sprout & Salsify Salad
This was a playful starter of bitter (barely) greens dressed in lightly sweet balsamic vinaigrette and shaved truffle. The warm brussels sprouts were cooked to a good crunchy texture.

2nd course: Kabocha Squash Tempura
A good looking version of the mock shrimp with silvers of butternut squash and yuzu ponzu dipping sauce kept the bite tasty and refreshing.

Appetizer: Crusted Oyster Mushrooms
The rice flour & coriander seed dredge gave the mushrooms extra crispy coatings and the tomato-black pepper-lemongrass sambal made it irresistible.

Soup of the day: Red Lentils and Carrot Soup
A heart warming bowl of soup served just in time to smooth down the greasy appetizer.

Dining at the bar was not only an option for the unreserved, but also the service there was phenomenal; the silverwares were always replaced promptly between each course without us noticing it.

3rd course: Savory Cabbage Rolls
These giant rolls of cabbage were very filling with the meaty mushroom, barley, braised fennel & other earthy ingredients. The tomato based sauce with green olives completed the dish.

Dessert: Warm Brown Rice Pudding
The dessert was light yet sweet with fun textures from the brown rice, spiced pistachios & coconut. It was well portioned after a hearty meal.

BRUNCH @Canteen

Brunch on a limited menu is served only on the weekends and a reservation is your best bet to get a seat.

Blueberry French Toast ($10)
Just look it. You know you want to have a bite of this fluffy goodness. The cream cheese added a good balance to the blueberry sauce.

A good cup of coffee and a side of chicken sausages will help harmonize your sweet palate. (3-3.5)

Benedict (13) was a solid savory dish with perfectly poached eggs and roasted potatoes.

SNACKING & SHOPPING @Ferry Building Marketplace

In the pier 1, the marketplace is a good stop to do some final snacking and shopping.

Though we couldn’t make it for the fast selling waffle, the pumpkin seed bread crumbs worked just fine with Blue Bottle’s latte.

Whether you want something salty, sweet, cured, cheese-melting or doughy. This is the place to be to bring home something memorable.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

San Francisco: A Weekend In The City